“They’re casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It’s our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations.”

and a related quote:

“I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society — from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation. A get-up-and-go, instead of a sit-back-and-wait-for-it Britain.”

In an interview with George Negus for the Australian TV program 60 minutes, the following exchange occurred [2]:

Negus: Why do people stop us in the street almost and tell us that Margaret Thatcher isn’t just inflexible, she’s not just single-minded, on occasions she’s plain pig-headed and won’t be told by anybody?

Thatcher: Would you tell me who has stopped you in the street and said that?

This photograph was taken less than two hours before the Chancellor Alistair Darling gave his crucial Pre-Budget Report.

The room is shut off from the rest of No10 by sound-proofed doors, framed by two large Corinthian pillars and a little ante-room.

The main space is dominated by a 40ft boatshaped table (1), commissioned in 1959 by Tory Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Designed so that the Prime Minister gets a clear view of all

his Ministers, it has a modern mahogany top on George IV tripod legs. The table is accompanied by 23 carved, solid Victorian mahogany chairs but only the Prime Minister’s has armrests.

To the left (2) is a portrait by the French artist Jean-Baptiste van Loo of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister. Nicknamed Sir Blustering, he served 20 years and 314 days from April 1721 until February 11, 1742, longer than any of his successors.

The painting on the right (3) is View From The Turrets of 11 Downing Street by George Lambert (circa 1740) on loan from The Museum of London.

The clock on the mantelpiece (4) used to annoy the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who ordered a second one (5) to be placed opposite the Premier’s chair so that he could time meetings discreetly without having to turn round.

No Minister is allowed to sit directly opposite the Prime Minister to block the view. However, rather disconcertingly, the clocks chime at different times.

Blotters, inscribed with their titles, mark Ministers’ places, each allocated according to rank. Each also has a pencil in House of Commons green and a crystal water glass on a wooden coaster (6) bearing the Downing Street coat of arms.

The room also doubles as a library, begun by Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924. Each outgoing Premier donates a book to the collection.

The austere room has little natural light and heavy damask drapes (one of which appears to have parted from its runners), so the three brass chandeliers (7) usually have to be switched on. However, the two 18th Century solid-silver candlesticks on the mantelpiece (8) are purely for decoration.

There are four bowls of Fox’s Glacier Mints (9) and coffee from bone-china mugs, bearing the Royal coat of arms. Only Welsh Secretary Peter Hain (10) seems to want just water.

Sometimes you just have to tell it like it is. If the king/leader is running around naked then somebody should tell him he has no clothes. Yes its gloves off and personal but on the pensions issue Brown just grabbed a load of cash to fund his client state. Nobody elected him as PM and on his track record as chancellor alone he should be voted out this time round.